French flower beading, the unique art of sculpting with beads on wire, originated in the 1500's with French and Italian peasants who embroidered small glass beads on ball gowns and jackets for members of the French Royal Court. The peasants saved the imperfect beads, stringing them on wire to make beaded flowers. These flowers were then used for church processions, altar sprays, bridal bouquets, and funeral wreaths. During the 1600's and 1700's the art was very popular in France, Italy and England and by the 1800's beaded bouquets had become cherished decorator pieces, owned primarily by the elite. Among those known to have owned bouquets and pieces were Marie Antoinette, Madame Pompadour and Napoleon's Josephine.
Although its popularity waned over the years, the art never completely died out. In the late1960's French flower beading began enjoying a new popularity in the United States in particular. Several how-to books on creating beaded flowers were published, and kits were even available for beginners to help them get started. Most beads used in making beaded flowers came from Czechoslovakia, however, and with the beginning of the "cold war," supplies were difficult to obtain. Again, the art lost popularity and both flowers and artists became as scarce as the supplies.
A French Beading Artists Guild was established in Idaho Falls, Idaho by one of the few remaining instructors in the United States, "Sam" Ellis. The purpose of the Guild was to preserve this unique art form and stimulate state-of-the-art flower bead work. After seeing bouquets of beaded flowers on display at the Idaho Falls Airport, I took my first flower beading class from Sam in the early 80's and was hooked. Sam taught, created new techinques, expanded on older ones, and instilled in her students the same love she had for this art. Sadly, she passed away in 2000 after a long and courageous battle with cancer, but not until after she had seen how the internet was bringing together flower beaders from all over the world to share their enthusiasm for her passion.
In 1999, along with a handful other beaded flower enthusiasts from across the country that had found each other on the internet, I started a beaded flower group on Yahoo.com. We were surprised to find each other, delighted to know there were others out there who shared our passion for beads, flowers and especially beaded flowers. From that small beginning, the group has grown to over 900 members from around the world, including artists, designers, authors, instructors, and those who simply love this ancient art.
We invite you to join us. Our list includes beginners, experts, designers, authors of bead-related books, instructors, those who simply love the creations, the curious, and beaders and crafters of all kinds.
On September 11, 2001, the Beaded Flower Memorial Wreath Project was born. As members of the beaded flower group watched the horrible events of that day unfold, we began asking what we could do to express our sorrow for those lost and show support for those left behind. It was decided that three beaded flower memorial wreaths would be created, one for each crash site. Three volunteers, chosen for their proximity to the crash sites, offered to collect the flowers and assembe the wreaths. The outpouring of support from group members and others was tremendous. Stem after stem of hand-beaded flowers arrived from across the United States, as well as Canada, England, Australia, Italy, France and Switzerland.
Three beautiful wreaths were completed from these donations, and two have found permanent homes. For more about the wreaths, where they can be viewed and how you might be able to help find a permanent home for the third, please check out our wreath tribute pages.